Mark Waugh Feels Steve Smith Injury Could be Blessing in Disguise

New Delhi: Australia selector Mark Waugh feels that it could be a blessing in disguise that skipper Steve Smith had to fly home after injuring his shoulder in the final ODI of the five-match series against India.

“Obviously Steve Smith going home might be a blessing in disguise, a bit of a freshen-up. He’s got a heavy workload, as do a lot of the players. We’ll be right. Those three Shield matches will have us in good stead for the Ashes,” he told Sky Sports Radio.

Smith had landed awkwardly on his right shoulder during the fifth ODI in Nagpur and had experienced soreness since then. "He has had an MRI scan which has excluded serious injury, but we believe the best course of action is for him to not continue to aggravate his shoulder and allow it to recover," team doctor Richard Saw said.

The Australia selector is not too pleased with the schedule of the ongoing limited-overs series between India and Australia. Mark feels that with the Ashes coming up, it would have been ideal to have been back home and focus on domestic cricket ahead of the historic battle.

“It’s got to be said, it’s not an ideal time to be away from Australia. This series has been a bit spread out. It would have been better probably if it was a week or two shorter. Once they get home, they’ll have a little break then they’ll be back focused on red ball cricket, then the Ashes. The players are pretty much used to it; it’s probably more the travelling, flying around. This one-day tournament and T20 tournament has been to about eight different places, so there’s been a lot of travel. But I think they’re coping pretty well,” Mark said.